Various types of latchable saddles for supporting and securing the shaft of a reel assembly in a horizontal disposition have been previously used in the art. One type as shown, for example, in Sauber U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,522 generally includes a "Y" shaped saddle member with a lower mounting base and spaced apart upper arms with the arms having transverse openings that receive a removable retaining pin. Such retaining pins often have a head at one end and a fastener such as a cotter pin or the like is used at the other end to secure the pin. Since pins alone may be lost after being removed from the saddle and pin assembly during installation of a new reel assembly often a chain or other tether has been provided, but they do break over time and use.
Also, such pins of the above saddle and pin assembly have difficulties and pose problems like possibly vibrating out of the assembly if the cotter pin is not properly secured, requiring tools to remove or assemble, and being cumbersome to open and close during replacement of a reel assembly.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above by providing a captured pin arrangement for a support saddle which is easy to use and eliminates the potential time waste of either manipulating or pin tethering to the saddle or hunting for a lost pin.
It is another related object of the invention to provide a latching device for a saddle which avoids possible vibrating out of position during use.
A further object of the invention is to provide a latchable pin and saddle assembly that is easy to open and close without tools.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pin and saddle assembly that may be easily installed onto supports carried by a vehicle.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pin and saddle assembly that is relatively inexpensive and made up of easily replaceable components.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.